My IPA was in the primary for 10 days and gravity readings where steady before racking to the secondary. It’s been in the secondary for 13 days now and emits one bubble every 75 seconds on average. Temps have been a few degrees lower than recommended since racking. Can I bottle this now?

1 Answer
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If you got consistent hydrometer readings over several successive days then yes, go ahead and bottle. 3+ weeks in the fermenter sounds like more than sufficient time for your IPA.

By the way, the bubble rate is not an accurate way of measuring fermentation activity. Bubbles can be produced by changes in ambient temperature and by simply walking past your carboy/bucket!

[edit]

I should rectify this post slightly. You should also check that your FG is reasonably close to what you expected. If it is way off (i.e. 1.03 when it should be 1.01) then you may have a "stuck fermentation" which could lead to problems with explosive bottles etc.

In summary, check that you are close to your target FG, check consistency of hydrometer readings over 3 successive days, and then bottle!

+1 for spurious bubbles. I get that when I go to check the temperature on the buckets - a little bubble or two pops out of the airlock. I used to wonder if yeast know I'm there and are just saying "hi". But of course now I know better! ;)
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mdma♦Sep 12 '11 at 10:22

I understand however the bubbles in this case are regular.
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CanacourseSep 12 '11 at 11:36

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Even so, your constant hydrometer readings indicate that primary fermentation is essentially complete. You may still have some active yeast in suspension which will continue to give off low levels of CO2, which is what you want for bottle conditioning for example and is nothing to worry about.
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PoshpawsSep 12 '11 at 14:24

Totally separate from the yeast, if there is C02 in suspension, when the liquid warms up, then the C02 will bubble out. If you warm up a beer after a cool primary, you will see bubbling. Likewise if you just shake up a carboy, some bubbles will start popping. It is not necessarily a sign of any CURRENT activity by the yeast, just a sign of dissolved gas popping out of a liquid. HOWEVER, if you got bubbles, then it's prob a bad idea to bottle. Just give it more time at its current temp and make sure all activity is done.
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GrahamNov 29 '11 at 15:17